


The Song Remains the Same

by 5kenx5



Category: Fifth Harmony (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Camren - Freeform, F/F, Fluff, I Don't Even Know, I'm Sorry, Junior Prom, Love Confessions, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-04
Updated: 2017-08-04
Packaged: 2018-12-10 23:27:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,533
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11702076
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/5kenx5/pseuds/5kenx5
Summary: Lauren helps Camila get ready for Junior Prom and Camila's random question pushes Lauren to finally confess her feelings;“How old were you when you knew you liked girls?”“Five.”





	The Song Remains the Same

**Author's Note:**

> Honestly, idk what this is. I started trying to work on the next chapter for my other Camren Fic, Gold Dust Woman (if you haven't read it, please check it out!) and somehow this ended up happening instead. I've literally never written an AU before, so hopefully this is decent enough. Also, I don't know where the reference to Camila's Cinderella came from but it just sort of slipped out. 
> 
> I really don't know what happened here hahaha sorry guys for this disaster but I hope you like it anyway.

Lauren had just pulled the curling iron from the last bit of Camila’s hair when the younger girl spun around to face her. Something that looked a lot like panic was slowly etching its way onto her face, and Lauren couldn’t stop the frown that crawled onto her lips at the sight.

“You look beautiful,” she offered, when it was clear Camila wasn’t going to speak. She just chewed her lip, searching Lauren’s eyes for something and Lauren would’ve given it to her, would’ve given her anything if she only knew what the other girl was looking for.

A flood of crimson flashed against her cheeks at Lauren’s compliment, almost the same shade that the green-eyed girl had painted onto her lips less than an hour before. It was smudged, smeared into the creases of her mouth from the way she was biting her own skin, and Lauren’s cheeks flushed at the sight of her own lipstick smeared on Camila’s mouth, even if it was just because the girl was a nervous wreck who borrowed her makeup.

Lauren knew why she was nervous – thought she did, anyway. Austin would be there in just a few minutes to pick her up and it was the first time Camila’s parents were letting her really _go out_ with a boy; something about Junior Prom and special occasions.

She didn’t get what was so special about _Junior_ Prom _,_ but she still spent 3 hours on Camila’s hair and makeup and she still bought an overpriced dress because Camila told her it brought out her eyes.

When Camila finally spoke, it was not at all what Lauren had expected.

“How old were you when you knew you liked girls?” Her voice came out in a whisper, and Lauren wasn’t sure where the question came from, didn’t know why _that_ was what she was thinking of while getting ready for the dance but she answered immediately, without even blinking.

“Five.” There was no question to it, no hesitation. There never had been.

“ _Five?_ Lo, that’s…that’s so young. How could you possibly know at _five_?”

 _It’s now or never,_ Lauren thought, as she took a deep breath. She took in the sight of Camila’s tan skin against her white dress, the black heels hugging her feet, and pink bow peeking out from the curls in her hair – the prom attire that Lauren had picked out herself because the other girl couldn’t decide on a single dress after two hours of shopping and Lauren always loved her in white. Camila’s eyes were sparking, begging Lauren to continue, and the older girl decided it was worth it.

“I still remember it so clearly, Camz. It was the first day of kindergarten and I was excited as hell to finally be in school, learning; I was such a nerd,” Lauren shook her head and Camila just grinned, hopping up on the counter.

“My dad had a death grip on my wrist, I was terrified he was going to change his mind and take me home. And my mom was just running through every mother’s _don’t do this and don’t do that_ speech – you know, ‘don’t pull the fire alarm, Lauren’ and ‘don’t flush all the crayons down the toilet, Lauren’ and ‘just because somebody makes fun of your shoes doesn’t mean you can punch them in the mouth, Lauren,’ – stuff like that,” Lauren shrugged.

“I don’t think I got that speech,” Camila admitted, an amused smile on her face.  

“I was a bit of a trouble maker in pre-school,” Lauren confessed, a small smirk tugging at her lips.

“Still are,” Camila rolled her eyes playfully.

“Shut up, Camz,” Lauren continued, “I remember my mom trying to tell me something important, but I wasn’t really listening. I got distracted by this little girl that walked past us. God, I can still remember what she was wearing. She had on this frilly white dress and these ridiculously shiny black shoes and this giant pink bow in her hair that had to be just as big as her entire face. I know it sounds outrageous, but I thought she looked like a damn princess, even as her mom all but dragged her up to the door, tears dripping down her cheeks and clinging onto her mom’s hand pretty much the same way my dad was clinging onto mine. That bow might as well have been a fucking tiara,” Lauren chuckled, shaking her head. Her voice was surprisingly steady, all things considered. She glanced up at Camila nervously, expecting some kind of recognition in her eyes but coming up short.

Maybe Camila really didn’t remember. It was 11 years ago, after all.

“That’s when you knew?” She asked, quirking her head to the side. Lauren’s heart swelled at the way her curls bounced off her shoulders when her head moved. She couldn’t stop herself from reaching out to tuck a stray piece behind the girl’s ears. Camila blushed, but Lauren hardly noticed, dropping her gaze while she continued her story.

“Not exactly.” Camila nodded along for her to keep going.

“So we all got inside the class, and she was the last to come in because the teacher had to practically pry her out of her mother’s arms. She sat down in the back between two boys I’d known from pre-school – Shawn and Austin, yes _your_ Austin. I wanted to move to sit by her, but Austin was the same kid who I punched for making fun of my shoes, so I figured it wasn’t a good idea. I at least _tried_ to listen to my mom, that has to count for something, right?”

“I’m pretty sure he’s still afraid of you,” Camila mused, dragging her tongue between her teeth.

“Good,” Lauren joked. “Anyway, we all had to go around and say something interesting about ourselves. I basically tried to announce my life story before the teacher interrupted me.”

“ _Of course_ you did,” Camila muttered with a smile. Lauren bit back her smile and continued.

 “By the time it got to the back, the girl with the bow just quietly said her name and let her head drop. I was upset, because I was really looking forward to her ‘interesting story.’ But when the teacher urged her to continue, she just started crying and apologizing in Spanish. Bradley laughed and called her a name I didn’t even understand at the time, but it made me mad anyway. I stood up and asked her where she was from and then I told her I thought she had the most interesting fact out of everybody, even me. My Spanish definitely wasn’t as good as hers, since my mom mostly spoke Spanglish with me, but the way she smiled across three rows of sticky five-year-olds, just a bright lopsided smile, it changed my world. She didn’t even say anything, just smiled, crooked teeth and all, and that’s when I knew.”

Lauren noticed the way Camila’s eyebrows furrowed together, like she was trying to piece something together but was missing something.

“Camz?” Lauren prodded nervously. Any response was better than silence – well, almost any response.

“Have you told me this before? It feels…familiar.”

“No, I’ve never told you.” Technically, it wasn’t a lie.

Camila suddenly stood up and Lauren was very aware of how close she was to her. She tried to step back but her brain felt fuzzy and she couldn’t move even if she wanted to.

“Lauren, who’s the girl with the bow?” Camila asked, her tone suddenly very serious and her voice very quiet. Lauren swallowed the lump in her throat, slowly reaching up and running her finger over the bow buried in Camila’s hair.  

“I’m looking at her,” Lauren responded in a whisper.

And that’s when the doorbell rang.

Lauren jumped at the sound, the realization that she just basically confessed to her best friend that she’s been in love with her for eleven years while her date was downstairs to take her to prom smacking her in the face. Camila wasn’t even fazed though; she didn’t even blink from the sound of the doorbell.

“And now?”

“Now what?” Lauren wasn’t sure what she was asking.

“11 years later…” Camila prompted, and Lauren understood. She tilted Camila’s chin up forcing her to meet her eyes.

“11 years ago, _I knew._ And 11 years later, I still know. 11 years later, after shiny shoes and frilly dresses turned into converse and ripped skinny jeans, you’re still a damn princess to me,” she leaned closer, pretending to not notice the way Camila shivered.

 _“Y once años más tarde, usted todavía tiene la historia más interesante **(and**   **eleven years later, you still have the most interesting story)**_ ,” Lauren ended in a whisper.

The doorbell rang again, but this time, neither of them noticed. Lauren was too distracted by the way Camila threw her hands around her neck and crashed their lips together.

“I guess I’ve always been a little slower to catch on than you,” Camila joked, her breath lingering on Lauren’s skin.

“Nah, I’m just a freakin’ genius.”

And Camila shot her that same crooked smile she fell in love with on the first day of kindergarten.


End file.
